Apologies to my loyal reader (hi Mom!) for my lack of updates. Life has been hectic and for the most part poker has not been a part of it.
We rejoin our hero after he posted his week 1 results of +2k and change. I lost 1k the next day and after that went to bed feeling not quite right. As the week progressed I felt worse and worse until the apex of my despair was reached on that Tuesday with my temperature spiking above fever level. Confined I was, to the bed in my studio apartment. The weather seemed to move in sync with my health as the rainstorms would fade and intensify with my temperature. I only left the apartment to obtain food or medicine, for no other reason did I leave.
That Friday I received some terrible news, my grandfather had passed away. It was not unexpected. I booked a flight home for that Sunday and went to the funeral on Monday. And that is all that I shall write on the matter.
I passed the next 2 days in Westchester as I plotted my next move. You see, it was late in October and although I had no intention of returning to the northeast until Thanksgiving I obviously had to for the above. My brother's birthday and Halloween are only 2 days apart and some of my friends in NYC were having a party for another friend's birthday. I also didn't/don't know anyone in Miami, so, rather than returning directly to Florida I decided that I should pretty much bum around until I had attended every event possible.
I spent Thursday night in Atlantic City at the Borgata where I have 2 nights a week free Sunday-Thursday pretty much forever it seems. A little poker playing was had by all and although I came out a slight winner I became increasingly frustrated as my very large edge was obvious to me and yet spots to apply it simply wouldn't manifest themselves. I instead exploited the leaks of my opponents by folding my random chaff and exercising considerable restraint to not spew. That is not wholly the truth, a spot or two did arise in which I took questionable lines that might or might not have been clouded by my boredom and latent frustration that had been brought to a low simmer by the aforementioned boredom.
I left Atlantic City and headed to Philadelphia wherein I stayed with Dave, a friend from high school who like most people from past parts of your lives I simply do not see enough. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday night there before departing back to New York on the bus sometime on Monday. A good time by all was had that weekend I think? My memory is a bit fuzzy. Excuse my use of an extremely trite phrase, but, it came to an end as all good things do. It was at this point that I was mostly at a loss as to what to do with myself. You see, everyone else I know does stuff on a normal schedule, they don't just decide to take 3 week jaunts around the northeast or they can't hang out during the week at 2pm because they are in school or working or something. Which is why I need friends with more awesome jobs like promoters or bartenders or something, but that's a discussion for another day. So I went back to my parent's house in Westchester, something that I really don't like doing mostly because of the lack of things to do, and waited until Friday. I started to catch up on tons of missed sleep mostly. How I have so much missed sleep when I work for myself if I want to is really beyond me, but it is what it is.
Friday was the occurrence of John's birthday at his then current location way the hell out in Bensonhurst. Somehow I got out there alive a bit early for the party. The term shit-show does not even begin to cover it. Although my man Tips was spinning some mad beats (yes there was a DJ at a house party ship it) some strange stuff still went down. Mostly having to do with a different roommate coming back plastered and starting a fight over the placement of some magnets on a refrigerator (no I am not making this up). Still, one or two assholes can't ruin the fun and the Dunkin Donuts/McDonalds runs early the next morning sans the aforementioned assholes were a great time.
My next step in my journey was to Pittsburgh for the Halloween/birthday celebrations. Little did I know that our villain, the great white menace, was barreling his way towards me...DUN DUN DUN
wow this is going to end up being 3 parts so allow me to hang a cliff right there.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Rain and 1 week results
NB: I tried to imitate a style of writing that I admire in the first part. It did not go extraordinarily well but I don't think it went too badly all things considered.
It's the rainy season in Miami. Or at least the hurricane season. Depending on who you ask it will either rain until November or it is a fluke that it is raining at all.
I went outside early this afternoon after waking up and getting ready. It was cloudy and cool with a slight drizzle, the wind was in quite a frenzy. My first day wearing a long sleeve shirt in Miami, quite the momentous occasion. Seventy three degrees has never felt so cold.
I went to the bar last night to watch the finale of the NLDS. The storm that blew through was a monster. I walked down to South Point park beforehand, thankfully I made it indoors before the rain started. Before the rain starts there is usually lightning. After that there is wind. And then comes the storm, a great buffeting thing with the gusts of wind only highlighted by the intermittent strikes of lightning and rolls of thunder. It is a mad, terrible chorus.
While crossing Biscayne Bay on the bus today I was struck by how different it looked. Usually it is stunningly beautiful, boats freely move among the multitude of islands in its midst on clear blue water. Today it was angry. The Weather Channel thinks we are in for some nasty stuff.
It was raining quite heavily when I got off the bus across the street from the casino. The casino does not abut the street, its parking lot does. The entrance to the poker room is set ever further back from the street. As I watched the sheets of rain falling from the cover of a McDonalds (no, I did not buy anything) I was struck by the irony of it all. I was staring across a desolate wasteland of pavement and fences. The problem with cities that sprawl, I was 150 yards away but no closer than at my apartment. I got impatient waiting for the rain to end so I ran for it, but first I snapped a picture so I could post it here. I showed up at the poker room wetter than when I began the journey but not too badly off. At least I was in high spirits.
I only played 3 hours today. The rain let up for a little bit and I caught the last bus on the line. I spent an equal amount of time playing as I did traveling.
The desolate wasteland I needed to cross.
Week 1 results:
Eh it's close enough so I'll just call the 1st-8th week 1. The main thing about this week is that I did not play nearly enough hours. I took Monday off to move in and yesterday off to screw around/take care of some things which is fine but I still did not put in enough hours regardless. I touched on this in a post I have since deleted but I like the idea of maximizing your ev when young. Even if it means working slightly harder (not too hard obv). Anyway I'm really conflicted about whether or not I should be posting my results online but I just spent a lot of time making this graph so I guess I will. Okay it only took me about 45 seconds but yeah. I ran very good this week some days and very bad on other day.
I flopped a bunch of made hands and got paid on most of them - running good.
I hit 1 set in almost 30 hrs - running bad
I got sucked out on when all in a bunch of times with 65%+ equity - running bad
An ace flopped 4/5 times when I held pocket kings - running bad
Seriously I flopped a bunch of made hands and got paid - running good
to wit: 67o flopped 2 straights
K3s flopped a boat
78o flopped a straight
The graph should have the x-axis in hrs. This is an oversight of mine. I don't think it matters too much in the end as long as I know personally what my hourly rate is. Hourly is, after all, what we seek to maximize. Sort of. If we increase the number of hours we play in exchange for a slightly worse hourly because we wouldn't be doing anything else in that time then it is a fair trade-off. There is, however, no reason that we can't maximize our hourly in every single hour rather than be satisfied with playing our B game for long hours. The goal is to always be playing the A game.
Rakeback is any bonus that I win. In my graph I have included the wheel bonus thing that I talked about after subtracting the dealer tip. Money won in bonuses spends just like any other as far as I am aware.
I only played 28.25 hrs this week. My sample size is meaningless.
It's the rainy season in Miami. Or at least the hurricane season. Depending on who you ask it will either rain until November or it is a fluke that it is raining at all.
I went outside early this afternoon after waking up and getting ready. It was cloudy and cool with a slight drizzle, the wind was in quite a frenzy. My first day wearing a long sleeve shirt in Miami, quite the momentous occasion. Seventy three degrees has never felt so cold.
I went to the bar last night to watch the finale of the NLDS. The storm that blew through was a monster. I walked down to South Point park beforehand, thankfully I made it indoors before the rain started. Before the rain starts there is usually lightning. After that there is wind. And then comes the storm, a great buffeting thing with the gusts of wind only highlighted by the intermittent strikes of lightning and rolls of thunder. It is a mad, terrible chorus.
While crossing Biscayne Bay on the bus today I was struck by how different it looked. Usually it is stunningly beautiful, boats freely move among the multitude of islands in its midst on clear blue water. Today it was angry. The Weather Channel thinks we are in for some nasty stuff.
It was raining quite heavily when I got off the bus across the street from the casino. The casino does not abut the street, its parking lot does. The entrance to the poker room is set ever further back from the street. As I watched the sheets of rain falling from the cover of a McDonalds (no, I did not buy anything) I was struck by the irony of it all. I was staring across a desolate wasteland of pavement and fences. The problem with cities that sprawl, I was 150 yards away but no closer than at my apartment. I got impatient waiting for the rain to end so I ran for it, but first I snapped a picture so I could post it here. I showed up at the poker room wetter than when I began the journey but not too badly off. At least I was in high spirits.
I only played 3 hours today. The rain let up for a little bit and I caught the last bus on the line. I spent an equal amount of time playing as I did traveling.
The desolate wasteland I needed to cross.
Week 1 results:
Eh it's close enough so I'll just call the 1st-8th week 1. The main thing about this week is that I did not play nearly enough hours. I took Monday off to move in and yesterday off to screw around/take care of some things which is fine but I still did not put in enough hours regardless. I touched on this in a post I have since deleted but I like the idea of maximizing your ev when young. Even if it means working slightly harder (not too hard obv). Anyway I'm really conflicted about whether or not I should be posting my results online but I just spent a lot of time making this graph so I guess I will. Okay it only took me about 45 seconds but yeah. I ran very good this week some days and very bad on other day.
I flopped a bunch of made hands and got paid on most of them - running good.
I hit 1 set in almost 30 hrs - running bad
I got sucked out on when all in a bunch of times with 65%+ equity - running bad
An ace flopped 4/5 times when I held pocket kings - running bad
Seriously I flopped a bunch of made hands and got paid - running good
to wit: 67o flopped 2 straights
K3s flopped a boat
78o flopped a straight
The graph should have the x-axis in hrs. This is an oversight of mine. I don't think it matters too much in the end as long as I know personally what my hourly rate is. Hourly is, after all, what we seek to maximize. Sort of. If we increase the number of hours we play in exchange for a slightly worse hourly because we wouldn't be doing anything else in that time then it is a fair trade-off. There is, however, no reason that we can't maximize our hourly in every single hour rather than be satisfied with playing our B game for long hours. The goal is to always be playing the A game.
Rakeback is any bonus that I win. In my graph I have included the wheel bonus thing that I talked about after subtracting the dealer tip. Money won in bonuses spends just like any other as far as I am aware.
I only played 28.25 hrs this week. My sample size is meaningless.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
[x] place acquired, BINK and encounters of a close kind: wild life edition
Edit: PLACE IS LOCKED UP.
My plan was to hold off on making another post until I absolutely, positively had a place to stay locked up. And while I haven't met that 100% threshold yet I still believe I'm at least a 95% favorite to hold in this particular life situation and too much other weird and cool shit happened tonight for me not to write anything right now while it is still fresh and some adrenaline is pumping.
I had pretty much resigned myself to taking this crappy place far up north in Miami Beach between 60th and 61st street. I entered desperation mode, (it's what happens when your optimism bar drains to zero) saw something that was still available on Craigslist and set up an appointment to meet the woman who was renting it the next day, Saturday. So I make my way up there and as I dejectedly note that there really aren't any grocery stores or laundromats or anything really in the area I remind myself that I will take it for just one month while I look for something better. I got there a bit early and for the fuck of it I decide to look over the Craigslist sublets in Miami where lo and behold someone had just posted a sublet less than a half hour before in the heart of South Beach for an extremely reasonable rate. I obviously call this guy as fast as possible and tell him that I want to see the place asap and that there is an extremely strong likelihood that I will take it. He doesn't get off work until 5 but after that I can come to see it. Perfect. I go upstairs to look at the place I had agreed to look at and it was even worse than I expected. The building is half-hotel half-condominium renters and the room was billed as a "studio". I think it should have been billed as a closet. There is no delineation between the kitchen and the bedroom, no couch, one crappy table and basically no space to move around. The small wrap-around patio with a view of the bay is nice but there aren't even any curtains on the windows!! LOL. A true travesty when you consider the 1k/month that they were asking. I say thanks but no thanks as I laugh my way out.
I saw Ben's (the guy who's ad I responded to) place later that day and it's pretty much awesome. A true studio in a nice area with plenty of room, a couch, a separate kitchen, a few closets and on premises laundry as part of a little 2 story condominium square thing is well worth the $900 price tag. The plan is for me to move in on Monday (hopefully) and to keep it until the New Year. It's on 7th street in South Beach although I won't tell you the cross street because I don't want one of my single digit readers stalking me. You can't make this shit up; me checking Craigslist as I am waiting to see the place I was probably going to take 10 minutes later only to stumble upon something that is perfect...serendipity.
So I left the hostel and I'm now staying in a hotel for a few nights in Coral Gables. The casino that I intend to put in most of my hours at is in the Flagler/Coral Gables area and is 1.1-1.2 miles from my hotel. I checked in to the hotel and was ready to laze about and just go on the internet but honestly, I'm here to grind and I desperately need to put in a lot of hours playing if I am going to make this whole trip worth it, not that it isn't already awesome just living in Miami and going to the beach and what not, but still. I made my way over there via the friendly airport shuttle guy and arrive around 9:35. I got on the 2/5 waitlist and around 9:50 they call down a new game at table 9 which is always the coldest table in the room. Awesome. Anyway the table is super good and I flop the nut straight and manage to "cooler" the lower straight. I say "cooler" because he played it so fucking bad but for a fish it's a cooler. Right, the night is young and looks like it could be awesome. At 10pm the floor announces they are going to do the "hot table" thing. I have no idea what it is but it sounds like free money so I'm down. They spin one of those metal baskets that bingo numbers come out of and one of the floor men reaches in to get one. My table is going absolutely bonkers screaming "Nine!! Nine! Nueve! Nueve! NINE!!". Obv they draw a 9 and half the table goes crazy fist bumping and cheering. I still have no idea what is going on. Basically they deal a hand face up to the table and the winner of the hand gets to spin the wheel for some prize that is not clear to me. I'm in the small blind for the weird one and get dealt T9o. Somehow I fade 8 other hands (Magic City Casino games are 9 handed which is ship-it-holla-balla awesome) on KT3cc7K and get to spin the wheel, BINK. The wheel consists of all the hearts in a deck (2-A, why hearts idk it doesn't matter) arrayed evenly around and which ever one it lands on you get 100x the value in cash with the face cards having their blackjack values of 10 while the Ace is special and pays out 2.5k. I start my spin with a hard pull and watch it go round and round. Eventually it starts to slow down and goes slower and slower as it rolls through the Ace, King, Queen, barely getting past the Jack and just when it looks like it will stop at the Ten ends up on the 9. So I win $900 for doing nothing, pretty fucking awesome. I mean really it's rakeback which still works for me, I've definitely never hit anything like that in a poker room before but I hope this is the start of a constant tradition. By the way, I did the extremely easy equity calculation and the equity of a spin is $838. So I'm running good and still up even after I tip the dealer what I believe is the standard 5%. Okay, I'm a bit cheap and gave him $44 but fuck white chips. I also was a small winner on the day at cards which gave me a very easy 1k day.
It had gotten pretty late by the time I pick up which meant I needed to walk back from the casino because the shuttle has stopped running. But I'm from New York, land of the long walkers, so I am not intimidated. I begin my slow and steady march (judging by New York speeds anyway) and as I round one of the first corners or whatever I hear some rustling in the bushes (it's a fairly suburban part of the city). Two animals then streak out with one chasing the other. At first I think they are feral cats but after they stop running I get a much better look at one of them especially as it walks out into the light. My next thought was hyena but I obviously dismissed that out of hand once my brain started functioning again. It looked like a very large cat with a bushy tail and a small mean face. I really had no idea what it was but after serious consideration I have decided that it was probably a fox. I snapped a hazy picture that I will upload tomorrow for your appreciation and perusal. I also eagerly await your sympathy and concern. I didn't get a chance to take any good pictures because it started walking towards me at a very slow pace while it would surreptitiously (can animals even do that?) look at me as it walked in my general direction. I slowly started backing away while facing it (lol is it a bear? that's just what I do) and, as it didn't seem to be stopping, I started backing away a bit faster. It finally stopped after staring me down a bit. I decided that going to the other side of the road was better than getting mauled by an animal and having to get rabies shots. Before I can even get to the other side I see another wild animal. This one is definitely some sort of rodent. It had a tail like a rat, hairless and a bit thick, with an absolutely pure white face with the second half of the tail white as well. For some reason my mind automatically flickered to armadillo but I can't remember ever seeing an armadillo or looking at a picture of one. So I decided walking down the middle of the street was better. It was kind of late anyway and no one goes out in this area so it wasn't too bad.
One side rant. When I was reading some of the Wiki articles about Miami I found a link to a list published by a group that evaluates which cities are the most walkable in the United States. I'm sure they have some complicated or else incredibly dumb algorithm to figure it out although what it could possibly be escapes me at the moment. Miami ranks 8th on this list. Do you know what this tells me? The United States is absolute shit when it comes to walking friendly cities. Seriously, walking here sucks and that isn't just because of the heat. It's just spread out. Sure if you never leave the central area you can get around on the "MetroRail" or whatever they call it which is the retarded half-brother of a subway with these ridiculous little cars. But if you aren't rich it pretty much sucks. And I wonder who is less likely to own a car, rich people or poor people. Lots of things are ass backwards a lot.
I need to play a lot in the next few months. I need to be growing my bankroll to move up because wasting time grinding out 2/5 for the next year+ just isn't a good life plan. I also don't know anyone down here so it really shouldn't be a problem! I also have yet to adopt the local fashion, that is to say, shirtless. So I need to go to the gym. Waking up early, hitting the gym, eating better and grinding a shit ton. Life goals go. As soon as I can move in to my place, the grind is on.
I consider poker war. A controlled bloodless war where the only casualties are money and ego, but war nonetheless. To paraphrase Shakespeare: Release the dogs of war.
My plan was to hold off on making another post until I absolutely, positively had a place to stay locked up. And while I haven't met that 100% threshold yet I still believe I'm at least a 95% favorite to hold in this particular life situation and too much other weird and cool shit happened tonight for me not to write anything right now while it is still fresh and some adrenaline is pumping.
I had pretty much resigned myself to taking this crappy place far up north in Miami Beach between 60th and 61st street. I entered desperation mode, (it's what happens when your optimism bar drains to zero) saw something that was still available on Craigslist and set up an appointment to meet the woman who was renting it the next day, Saturday. So I make my way up there and as I dejectedly note that there really aren't any grocery stores or laundromats or anything really in the area I remind myself that I will take it for just one month while I look for something better. I got there a bit early and for the fuck of it I decide to look over the Craigslist sublets in Miami where lo and behold someone had just posted a sublet less than a half hour before in the heart of South Beach for an extremely reasonable rate. I obviously call this guy as fast as possible and tell him that I want to see the place asap and that there is an extremely strong likelihood that I will take it. He doesn't get off work until 5 but after that I can come to see it. Perfect. I go upstairs to look at the place I had agreed to look at and it was even worse than I expected. The building is half-hotel half-condominium renters and the room was billed as a "studio". I think it should have been billed as a closet. There is no delineation between the kitchen and the bedroom, no couch, one crappy table and basically no space to move around. The small wrap-around patio with a view of the bay is nice but there aren't even any curtains on the windows!! LOL. A true travesty when you consider the 1k/month that they were asking. I say thanks but no thanks as I laugh my way out.
I saw Ben's (the guy who's ad I responded to) place later that day and it's pretty much awesome. A true studio in a nice area with plenty of room, a couch, a separate kitchen, a few closets and on premises laundry as part of a little 2 story condominium square thing is well worth the $900 price tag. The plan is for me to move in on Monday (hopefully) and to keep it until the New Year. It's on 7th street in South Beach although I won't tell you the cross street because I don't want one of my single digit readers stalking me. You can't make this shit up; me checking Craigslist as I am waiting to see the place I was probably going to take 10 minutes later only to stumble upon something that is perfect...serendipity.
So I left the hostel and I'm now staying in a hotel for a few nights in Coral Gables. The casino that I intend to put in most of my hours at is in the Flagler/Coral Gables area and is 1.1-1.2 miles from my hotel. I checked in to the hotel and was ready to laze about and just go on the internet but honestly, I'm here to grind and I desperately need to put in a lot of hours playing if I am going to make this whole trip worth it, not that it isn't already awesome just living in Miami and going to the beach and what not, but still. I made my way over there via the friendly airport shuttle guy and arrive around 9:35. I got on the 2/5 waitlist and around 9:50 they call down a new game at table 9 which is always the coldest table in the room. Awesome. Anyway the table is super good and I flop the nut straight and manage to "cooler" the lower straight. I say "cooler" because he played it so fucking bad but for a fish it's a cooler. Right, the night is young and looks like it could be awesome. At 10pm the floor announces they are going to do the "hot table" thing. I have no idea what it is but it sounds like free money so I'm down. They spin one of those metal baskets that bingo numbers come out of and one of the floor men reaches in to get one. My table is going absolutely bonkers screaming "Nine!! Nine! Nueve! Nueve! NINE!!". Obv they draw a 9 and half the table goes crazy fist bumping and cheering. I still have no idea what is going on. Basically they deal a hand face up to the table and the winner of the hand gets to spin the wheel for some prize that is not clear to me. I'm in the small blind for the weird one and get dealt T9o. Somehow I fade 8 other hands (Magic City Casino games are 9 handed which is ship-it-holla-balla awesome) on KT3cc7K and get to spin the wheel, BINK. The wheel consists of all the hearts in a deck (2-A, why hearts idk it doesn't matter) arrayed evenly around and which ever one it lands on you get 100x the value in cash with the face cards having their blackjack values of 10 while the Ace is special and pays out 2.5k. I start my spin with a hard pull and watch it go round and round. Eventually it starts to slow down and goes slower and slower as it rolls through the Ace, King, Queen, barely getting past the Jack and just when it looks like it will stop at the Ten ends up on the 9. So I win $900 for doing nothing, pretty fucking awesome. I mean really it's rakeback which still works for me, I've definitely never hit anything like that in a poker room before but I hope this is the start of a constant tradition. By the way, I did the extremely easy equity calculation and the equity of a spin is $838. So I'm running good and still up even after I tip the dealer what I believe is the standard 5%. Okay, I'm a bit cheap and gave him $44 but fuck white chips. I also was a small winner on the day at cards which gave me a very easy 1k day.
It had gotten pretty late by the time I pick up which meant I needed to walk back from the casino because the shuttle has stopped running. But I'm from New York, land of the long walkers, so I am not intimidated. I begin my slow and steady march (judging by New York speeds anyway) and as I round one of the first corners or whatever I hear some rustling in the bushes (it's a fairly suburban part of the city). Two animals then streak out with one chasing the other. At first I think they are feral cats but after they stop running I get a much better look at one of them especially as it walks out into the light. My next thought was hyena but I obviously dismissed that out of hand once my brain started functioning again. It looked like a very large cat with a bushy tail and a small mean face. I really had no idea what it was but after serious consideration I have decided that it was probably a fox. I snapped a hazy picture that I will upload tomorrow for your appreciation and perusal. I also eagerly await your sympathy and concern. I didn't get a chance to take any good pictures because it started walking towards me at a very slow pace while it would surreptitiously (can animals even do that?) look at me as it walked in my general direction. I slowly started backing away while facing it (lol is it a bear? that's just what I do) and, as it didn't seem to be stopping, I started backing away a bit faster. It finally stopped after staring me down a bit. I decided that going to the other side of the road was better than getting mauled by an animal and having to get rabies shots. Before I can even get to the other side I see another wild animal. This one is definitely some sort of rodent. It had a tail like a rat, hairless and a bit thick, with an absolutely pure white face with the second half of the tail white as well. For some reason my mind automatically flickered to armadillo but I can't remember ever seeing an armadillo or looking at a picture of one. So I decided walking down the middle of the street was better. It was kind of late anyway and no one goes out in this area so it wasn't too bad.
One side rant. When I was reading some of the Wiki articles about Miami I found a link to a list published by a group that evaluates which cities are the most walkable in the United States. I'm sure they have some complicated or else incredibly dumb algorithm to figure it out although what it could possibly be escapes me at the moment. Miami ranks 8th on this list. Do you know what this tells me? The United States is absolute shit when it comes to walking friendly cities. Seriously, walking here sucks and that isn't just because of the heat. It's just spread out. Sure if you never leave the central area you can get around on the "MetroRail" or whatever they call it which is the retarded half-brother of a subway with these ridiculous little cars. But if you aren't rich it pretty much sucks. And I wonder who is less likely to own a car, rich people or poor people. Lots of things are ass backwards a lot.
I need to play a lot in the next few months. I need to be growing my bankroll to move up because wasting time grinding out 2/5 for the next year+ just isn't a good life plan. I also don't know anyone down here so it really shouldn't be a problem! I also have yet to adopt the local fashion, that is to say, shirtless. So I need to go to the gym. Waking up early, hitting the gym, eating better and grinding a shit ton. Life goals go. As soon as I can move in to my place, the grind is on.
I consider poker war. A controlled bloodless war where the only casualties are money and ego, but war nonetheless. To paraphrase Shakespeare: Release the dogs of war.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Travel and First Impressions
I love flying. We move such huge distances in negligible time. The moment just before the plane lifts off causes an array of emotions to flicker through me. A crippling wave of nostalgia and a slight note of sadness are quickly replaced by a blooming peace and wonder. The unknown has never been a thing that frightens me, it exhilarates.
I flew out of La Guardia on a plane that was supposed to leave at 3pm around 3:45. It was a connecting flight to Philadelphia from where I caught my main flight to Miami. Kind of interesting, the flight to Philadelphia was aboard a small plane that had propellers on the front of the engine and only sat about 60 people. I make small talk with the guy next to me until he talks about how small the plane is and how his agent made this flight. He tells me that he is an NBA player. I am suitably impressed. I tell him I am a poker player; he is suitably impressed. If anyone follows this kind of thing (I don't) he was the 30th pick of the first round by the Bulls.
The flight to Miami was fairly uneventful. I did, for some reason, become fascinated at the way cloud cover looks 30,000 feet above the ground. I took a bunch of pictures of those infinite floors of smoke. We also passed by an enormous black thundercloud with lightning regularly flashing through it. That was cool, I'm glad we went around it though.
I'm sitting in a hostel in South Beach right now which actually isn't part of Miami. South Beach is gorgeous. Everything about it. The architecture in particular with the Art Deco buildings. It is always alive with partiers and the beach is never more than a few blocks away while the streets are lined with boutiques, coffee shops and palm trees.
I also really like some of the areas of Miami. Having really only experienced the northeastern cities I am shocked at the sprawl of it all. It goes on for a very long while. The parts by the Bay that are across the bridge from South Beach/Miami Beach like Brickell and Downtown are awesome. Then you get further out towards the west and it...really isn't that nice.
The casino. Umm wow I didn't know people race dogs. It was extremely surreal to watch dogs run by even if those dogs look like mini horses. The Action was extremely soft. I'm very satisfied with my decision even if it does suck that it takes me an hour or so to travel each way although I am only going 10 miles since I take the bus. Don't have too much to say about poker at the moment because I basically just arrived in town and I have been thinking a bunch about where I can find a place to live...it is not going well so far but I'm not really worried. It's pretty easy to argue that I should be but it's just not in my nature.
I flew out of La Guardia on a plane that was supposed to leave at 3pm around 3:45. It was a connecting flight to Philadelphia from where I caught my main flight to Miami. Kind of interesting, the flight to Philadelphia was aboard a small plane that had propellers on the front of the engine and only sat about 60 people. I make small talk with the guy next to me until he talks about how small the plane is and how his agent made this flight. He tells me that he is an NBA player. I am suitably impressed. I tell him I am a poker player; he is suitably impressed. If anyone follows this kind of thing (I don't) he was the 30th pick of the first round by the Bulls.
The flight to Miami was fairly uneventful. I did, for some reason, become fascinated at the way cloud cover looks 30,000 feet above the ground. I took a bunch of pictures of those infinite floors of smoke. We also passed by an enormous black thundercloud with lightning regularly flashing through it. That was cool, I'm glad we went around it though.
I'm sitting in a hostel in South Beach right now which actually isn't part of Miami. South Beach is gorgeous. Everything about it. The architecture in particular with the Art Deco buildings. It is always alive with partiers and the beach is never more than a few blocks away while the streets are lined with boutiques, coffee shops and palm trees.
I also really like some of the areas of Miami. Having really only experienced the northeastern cities I am shocked at the sprawl of it all. It goes on for a very long while. The parts by the Bay that are across the bridge from South Beach/Miami Beach like Brickell and Downtown are awesome. Then you get further out towards the west and it...really isn't that nice.
The casino. Umm wow I didn't know people race dogs. It was extremely surreal to watch dogs run by even if those dogs look like mini horses. The Action was extremely soft. I'm very satisfied with my decision even if it does suck that it takes me an hour or so to travel each way although I am only going 10 miles since I take the bus. Don't have too much to say about poker at the moment because I basically just arrived in town and I have been thinking a bunch about where I can find a place to live...it is not going well so far but I'm not really worried. It's pretty easy to argue that I should be but it's just not in my nature.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Where I Am
Hey guys,
Sorry for the lack of updates lately but I haven't been doing a lot. I arrived in New York Friday morning from Atlantic City and then had to scramble to find a place to stay. I ended up staying with a friend that night and then another friend's on Saturday night after a party. I have been at my parent's house in the suburbs since then.
Exciting news though! I am going back to New York in a few hours where I will be spending the entirety of the weekend crashing on different people's couches/floors. And then, on Monday, I am catching the ~3pm flight from La Guardia to Miami. FUCK YES.
It has been a week since I played poker and I am growing restless. I always grow restless in the suburbs though. I have been browsing around for sublets and stuff on Craigslist, ever since my cross country hitch hiking adventure via Craigslist I trust it completely, and while the prices aren't too outrageous they are still higher than I expected. A few promising ones have passed by my eyes so it seems pretty likely that I will end up subletting a 1 bedroom in Miami Beach. Everyone is invited to come down once I find it. I'm staying in a hostel for a few nights in South Beach while I look around.
I might even look for a *gasp* the 3 letter word (j*b). A fun one though...because I will need to meet people down there and break the monotony of it all. I think I might get a bartending license and look for a j*b doing that.
A note on lending money: don't do it...In the gambling world your word is your reputation. The first time you break your bond it's over. I think I will be one of the lucky ones and end up getting back most of the money that I loaned to people, even if it isn't within the time frame that was part of the original agreement.
So yeah, probably won't update for the next few days due to being afk and hanging out in the city. I will try and put up pictures of the 9/11 Memorial after I go on Sunday.
Sorry for the lack of updates lately but I haven't been doing a lot. I arrived in New York Friday morning from Atlantic City and then had to scramble to find a place to stay. I ended up staying with a friend that night and then another friend's on Saturday night after a party. I have been at my parent's house in the suburbs since then.
Exciting news though! I am going back to New York in a few hours where I will be spending the entirety of the weekend crashing on different people's couches/floors. And then, on Monday, I am catching the ~3pm flight from La Guardia to Miami. FUCK YES.
It has been a week since I played poker and I am growing restless. I always grow restless in the suburbs though. I have been browsing around for sublets and stuff on Craigslist, ever since my cross country hitch hiking adventure via Craigslist I trust it completely, and while the prices aren't too outrageous they are still higher than I expected. A few promising ones have passed by my eyes so it seems pretty likely that I will end up subletting a 1 bedroom in Miami Beach. Everyone is invited to come down once I find it. I'm staying in a hostel for a few nights in South Beach while I look around.
I might even look for a *gasp* the 3 letter word (j*b). A fun one though...because I will need to meet people down there and break the monotony of it all. I think I might get a bartending license and look for a j*b doing that.
A note on lending money: don't do it...In the gambling world your word is your reputation. The first time you break your bond it's over. I think I will be one of the lucky ones and end up getting back most of the money that I loaned to people, even if it isn't within the time frame that was part of the original agreement.
So yeah, probably won't update for the next few days due to being afk and hanging out in the city. I will try and put up pictures of the 9/11 Memorial after I go on Sunday.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Atlantic City is DONE
I can't stand being in the Borgata any longer. No, that's not quite right. Sort of. The basic problem is that I need other things to do and other places to be. I like grinding most days and the lifestyle that it entails, I just need other things to do outside of it. I need a place to go back to at the end of a session. This is fueling my bad play; every time I walk by the poker room I am filled with revulsion.
Also, when did it get cold outside? I was going to catch the jitney to somewhere else to play tonight and when I did I was blasted by cold air. Apparently the seasons changed while I have been hibernating in the Borgata. Not sure what day or time it is right now but my laptop says Friday at 4:13am. Hmm...not sure where I will sleep tonight but I will figure it out when I get to New York.
I think I ended up profiting ~2k after expenses while here because living in a hotel is definitely not cheap. Ah whatever, what could have been etc.
I play the lower limits like 2/5 to get to high stakes. If I don't reach that in the next year or so I think I will probably transition out of poker. But until then, poker is my thing.
Also, when did it get cold outside? I was going to catch the jitney to somewhere else to play tonight and when I did I was blasted by cold air. Apparently the seasons changed while I have been hibernating in the Borgata. Not sure what day or time it is right now but my laptop says Friday at 4:13am. Hmm...not sure where I will sleep tonight but I will figure it out when I get to New York.
I think I ended up profiting ~2k after expenses while here because living in a hotel is definitely not cheap. Ah whatever, what could have been etc.
I play the lower limits like 2/5 to get to high stakes. If I don't reach that in the next year or so I think I will probably transition out of poker. But until then, poker is my thing.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Self-Loathing
I've run pretty decent at the Borgata aside from one or six choice spots. I have played pretty well about half the time and absolutely fucking awful the other half. And for that, I hate myself. Everyone wants to do their job well and I am no exception to this rule, so why the fuck can't I? I don't know and it is a question that has been bothering me to no end. I can usually nitpick out a thing or two here but there must be some larger theme. In the past I would usually set a goal of something that I wanted and that would help for a bit until I lost sight of it. So maybe I will try that, but what should my goal be?
I did a few stupid things today. One was having a few drinks before playing. Thankfully I quite before the damage was too much. Drinking and playing is a terrible idea, especially for me. Then I just tried to play ~20 minutes ago but I am so tired I can barely think straight and it certainly showed in my plays. So I made another good quit while limiting the damage to under $200 which is nice but damage is damage.
My new thought is that I need a change of scenery. Spencer managed to talk me into (okay so I wanted him to do so) going to his party in the city on Saturday and taking those 24 hrs off should really help. I might even go outside tomorrow and say hello to the sun if it hasn't set by the time I get up. I don't think I have seen it in 8 days. No, that's not right. I went to the boardwalk with Chad and Luis a few days ago and had a few drinks but aside from that I have not seen the sun. Nobody needs that bastard anyway.
So, starting tomorrow I am going to pretend that I just got to the Borgata and am starting this journey. As I mentioned in a previous post, people's ability to delude themselves knows no bounds and I am no exception to this rule. I'm actually really good at it. Yay? I have put my winnings in a separate pocket of my backpack and have just the 4k cash that I began this journey with. Then, if I am feeling up to it and awake and well fed I will play some poker sessions. If not, then definitely Friday.
I always set a point and say "THIS IS THE BEGINNING!! I AM DONE BEING A SCREW UP!! FROM NOW ON, I AM DOING THIS THE RIGHT WAY!!" And you know what? I never can follow through. Hence the title.
I did a few stupid things today. One was having a few drinks before playing. Thankfully I quite before the damage was too much. Drinking and playing is a terrible idea, especially for me. Then I just tried to play ~20 minutes ago but I am so tired I can barely think straight and it certainly showed in my plays. So I made another good quit while limiting the damage to under $200 which is nice but damage is damage.
My new thought is that I need a change of scenery. Spencer managed to talk me into (okay so I wanted him to do so) going to his party in the city on Saturday and taking those 24 hrs off should really help. I might even go outside tomorrow and say hello to the sun if it hasn't set by the time I get up. I don't think I have seen it in 8 days. No, that's not right. I went to the boardwalk with Chad and Luis a few days ago and had a few drinks but aside from that I have not seen the sun. Nobody needs that bastard anyway.
So, starting tomorrow I am going to pretend that I just got to the Borgata and am starting this journey. As I mentioned in a previous post, people's ability to delude themselves knows no bounds and I am no exception to this rule. I'm actually really good at it. Yay? I have put my winnings in a separate pocket of my backpack and have just the 4k cash that I began this journey with. Then, if I am feeling up to it and awake and well fed I will play some poker sessions. If not, then definitely Friday.
I always set a point and say "THIS IS THE BEGINNING!! I AM DONE BEING A SCREW UP!! FROM NOW ON, I AM DOING THIS THE RIGHT WAY!!" And you know what? I never can follow through. Hence the title.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)